in reponse to nj02, he said his motor is running well, so why get a new one? and what fun is it to buy a whole knew motor. you learn more from putting together one for yourself.

 

be carefull on your intake choice, i have a weind intake and a carter a.f.b. on my 78 and messed up a perfect hood when i closed it, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH ROOM ,, funny thing is i had an edelbrock performer on my 81 and never had a hood problem just be carefull and good luck

 

holley makes a package deal called the systemmax with intake, cam, lifters,push rods heads, for about 1400.00. matched set so no guess work just bolt it on.

 

Whatever you do, start by setting a realistic budget: what you can really afford, and afford to do WELL. Don't kid yourself. Most of the advice you got above is spot on, but the point is, once you have a budget, then YOU decide what you want, in what order. hae a master plan - where you plan to end up. Then, put it in the order you want and can afford. I'd start with the exhaust - it improves performance, makes a good sound, isn't too expensive. A four-barrel carb is good, as is a cam, new heads, etc.

Alternately, you could buy entire crate engine: 350 290 HP engines that outpower your stock engine by 50% cost only about $1500-$1800, and on up how much over that you pay depends on however much HP you want. You could just save your money and go that route. But again, the most important thing is make certain you are realistic about the money you will have to spend, plan your work, and the work your plan.

 

as i posted earlier most all the manufacturers make a package deal with everything matched and since it sounds like you are just getting started this would be your best way to go, you can also ask the manuf. other suggestions sch as preferred carb or any other you might have. just tell them what you plan on doing with the car and they can suggest cam size head port size etc. as far as buying a crate yeah its easy but what have you learned. buy a matched system that way you can get experience, plus you know what you have if people ask. and if nothing else its fun to have a couple of friends hanging in the garage working on an engine.

 

That is a very good point and gets to the heart of hot rodding, which is to have fun and learn. Nothing is as much fun as doing it yourself, a stage at a time.

Crate engines are for people with no motor at all, or with no time at all (sometimes time is important), or who don't have much left to learn. Some guys have done it so often they just don't want all the fuss again: most crate engines I see at shows are in an older guy's (guy like me) 3rd or 4th or even 5th project car--they've spend a lot of time and sweat restoring an older car and they just want to stick a reliable hot engine in it and go.

For me, much of the fun has always been studying what's available and deciding what to buy, and gradually learning this and that. That said, my next project, once I find a place for it, will be a 92-95 vette coupe with a 427 small block crate engine. Inepxensive and quick and i want only the end result (a nice "restored" 7-liter C4 to match my 7-liter C5). But we'd never put a crate engine in the Camaro - too much fun fussing with it all the time.

 

It seems to me that everyone is suggesting spending alot of $$$ buying new "performance" crate motors, big cams, aftermarket intakes, carbs, ect. Dose'nt anyone remember or respect old GM muscle small blocks? if you're going to suggest spending $1800 on a new motor why not build a 1965-67 350HP 327? I've got about $855 in my junkyard bought 327 so far and I will have a turnkey for less than $1500. i'm using my stock '79 intake and carb(free), not to mention they WILL FIT. No, they wont out flow edelbrock, but, the mid to late 327's did'nt have those products on them from the factory anyway and they still made power. If it was good enough for 1967, then it's good enough for 2006. please keep this in mind before you spend thousands on a motor that is not built to your driving style/needs.

 

No body is beating up on these "old" engines, and overall I agree with you, V8chevyguy. I spent a lot of time with a 327 over the years and there is nothing I love more, even though I realize never engines are technically wonderous years ahead. And a junk yard budget car is a lot of fun, mixing and matching stock and found parts etc. I did that several times in my life with chevys and others and loved it. Would love to do it again.

That said, this project seemed different. From the original post, I got the impression that 19camaro78's car is a daily driver, that this is close to a first time project, and that there is a very limited budget. Therefore my note above about planning things out and being realistic. In addition, and no ffense to anyone, but I doubt 19camaro78 has the experience to work up a "jumkyard gem" -- its been years but I really believe only folks with A LOT of experience can do that, you have to remember all the different variations of which blocks had which rear end seal type and what crank and rod length can fit here and where you grind for clearance and etc. I'd have to do a lot of remembering and reserach before i could do this again, and I've probably built two dozen motors, and eight or 9 jukyard gems, in my time.

Probably the best thing here is for 19camaro78 to just add aftermarket parts to this stock motor: headers, better exhaust, intake amnifold, etc. Mild cam. Reserach and shopping around (swap meets are great sources!) can do this well on a budget.

My mention of crate engine is because it is easy particularly for those with little time and little experience or knowledge, it is a good way to get a nice engine quickly, without too much hassle or cost.

 

I want to appoligize for coming off abit harsh in my last post Lee. I'm just very passionate about the old technology. I'm not saying theres anything wrong with the new stuff, in alot of ways it's better I have a '95 Saturn w/189K on it that wont die, requireing only oil changes every other month. I rely on the old technology everyday in both my '79Z and my '82 K20. Both have been daily drivers for at most 27 years. The cars #'s matching with nearly 240K on it. I upgraded the truck with all heavy 1980 3/4 ton drivetrain and a new motor, that was at 200K. I agree with your previous suggestion about being realistic, planning and budgeting. Thats the only way average guys like us can make these projects take flight. I've been collecting parts to rebuild the front suspention and the motor since april '05. My next plan is rebuilding the rear suspention and swaping out my T10 for an M22, at the same time I drive her as much as I can. 19camaro78 expect to spend alot of time having fun with your camaro. everything you put into it will pay you back ten fold, and the more you learn or do yourself will only make you appreciate the end result even more.

 

I started out with the old technology and had a ball with it. My first car was a 55 Chevy. My last carburated car was a 68 Vette 327. After that it was fuel injection all the way. Mechanical at first as on the 72 Porsche I once owned, and later in an 88 owned by my wife. At that time I found it amazing that the computer could detect knock on one cylinder and retard the spark to just that cylinder. I have since been working with many different brands, domestic and imported. The one thing I found out, is that once you have the proper tools, and learn how the engine management works, computer controlled cars are easier to work on than the old machines.
Power wise there is not much difference, but the driveability of new cars is way ahead of that of the old technology. As I got older I got lazyer and now use a laptop to change mixture and timing. Instead of opening up a carburator to replace jets, spend hours trying to get the thing to idle right, and fiddling with a distributor mounted into a Sun machine to get the right dwell angle and advance curve.